STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC SAFETY
STATE POLICE
ADVISORY COMMISSION
NEWS RELEASE
Commissioner of
Public Safety and Chairwoman of State Police Advisory Commission Issue Summary
of Misconduct Investigations Against Members of the Vermont State Police in
2018
WATERBURY, Vermont (Feb. 28, 2019) — Thomas D. Anderson,
Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety (DPS), and Nancy P. Sheahan,
Chairwoman of the State Police Advisory Commission, have issued the following
joint statement summarizing the work of SPAC and the Internal Affairs Office
within the Department of Public Safety during 2018.
This marks the first time that DPS has released a public
summary of the commission’s work.
“DPS and the Vermont State Police strive to hold members of
the State Police to the highest professional and ethical standards.
Sharing this information with Vermonters represents another step in advancing
transparency and accountability within the Department of Public Safety and the
Vermont State Police,” Commissioner Anderson said. “By providing this summary,
we are able to give people a better understanding of the oversight role and
critical work of the State Police Advisory Commission and the important work of
VSP’s Internal Affairs Office.”
In 2018, the State Police Advisory Commission met five times
with the Commissioner of Public Safety, the Director of the Vermont State
Police, and the Director of Internal Affairs. In 2018, the Commissioner
of Public Safety directed formal internal affairs investigations be commenced
in response to four citizen complaints and 15 employee complaints. These
allegations of misconduct included but were not limited to failures to follow
orders, conduct unbecoming a State Police officer, neglect of duty, and
criminal conduct. The 19 citizen and employee complaints were resolved as
follows: Six are pending, four were unfounded, six were founded, and three
involved members who resigned prior to the completion of the
investigation. Disciplinary action included letters of reprimand, loss of
annual leave, suspension without pay, and demotion.
Additionally, there were five officer-involved-shooting
investigations, which as a matter of routine procedure resulted in internal
investigations being opened on 15 troopers. Two of the
officer-involved-shooting investigations remain pending. Three of the
shooting investigations involving 13 officers were closed after being found to
be justified by the offices of the Attorney General and the relevant State’s
Attorney, and after the 13 officers were found to have acted in conformity with
the State Police Use of Force Policy.
In addition, there were 48 motor-vehicle crashes involving
State Police officers that also were reviewed by the IA Office. Of these
matters, 20 resulted in formal discipline being imposed, which ranged from a
letter of reprimand to a loss of annual leave to a suspension without pay.
The State Police Advisory Commission (SPAC) was created by
statute in 1979 and is comprised of seven members appointed by the Governor
with the advice and consent of the Vermont Senate. Among the duties of
SPAC is to provide civilian oversight of the Vermont State Police and to advise
and counsel the Commissioner of Public Safety in his/her overall
responsibilities for the management, supervision and control of the Vermont
State Police. In addition, SPAC is statutorily empowered to provide
advice and counsel to the Commissioner of Public Safety to ensure appropriate
action is taken with respect to allegations of misconduct by State Police
officers. To assist the Commissioner of Public Safety and SPAC, Vermont
law also requires DPS to maintain an Office of Internal Investigations (IA),
whose sole responsibility is to investigate allegations of misconduct by
members of the Vermont State Police. The IA Office, staffed with a Vermont
State Police commander, reports directly to the Commissioner.
The current SPAC members are each highly respected
professionals and represent a cross-section of Vermont. Current members
are:
- Shirley
Jefferson: A professor and the
Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Diversity at Vermont Law
School. She graduated summa cum laude from Southeastern
University.
- Mary
Alice McKenzie: The former Director of the
Boys and Girls Club of Burlington for 10 years and the former CEO of
McKenzie of Vermont. In 2014, Ms. McKenzie was the winner of
Champlain College’s Distinguished Citizen Award and has served on numerous
boards of directors, including Central Vermont Public Service, VELCO,
Vermont Yankee, Vermont Federal Bank, the Associated Industries of
Vermont, and the American Meat Institute.
- Patti
Pallito: A Director for Aon Captive
Insurance & Management. Ms. Pallito is responsible for the
delivery of financial and insurance services to Aon's Vermont-based
captive clients. She holds an M.B.A. from Fordham University and is
a C.P.A.
- Glenn
Boyde: A long-time and well-respected
Probation and Parole Officer for the State of Vermont.
- Allison
Crowley DeMag: A businesswoman and principal
of Morris and Demag, Inc., which was founded in 1990 and assists clients
achieve public-policy goals.
- Nancy
Sheahan: A principal of McNeil, Leddy
& Sheahan, one of the most respected law firms in Vermont. She
has expertise in constitutional violations, police misconduct and accepted
police practices and policies.
- John
Filipek: A retired Vermont State
Police officer who served the people of Vermont for 30 years. Over
his career, Mr. Filipek worked his way up through the ranks serving as
Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and as Major of the Field Force
Division.
The Department of Public Safety IA Office receives
allegations of misconduct or improper conduct by a Vermont state trooper in two
ways. First, the public may lodge a complaint regarding a State Police
officer’s conduct by telephone, through the Vermont State Police website, via
email, or in person. These allegations are referred to as “citizen
complaints.” In addition, each State Police officer is obligated to
promptly report any evidence or allegation of misconduct or improper conduct
involving a State Police officer. These reports are referred to as
“employee complaints.”
Not all complaints rise to the level of requiring a formal
internal affairs investigation. These are typically handled by the
station or unit commander. By way of example, a complaint about a trooper
writing an individual a ticket, or a complaint that a trooper was speeding on
the highway normally would be handled by the station or unit commander.
More serious allegations, as determined by the Commissioner, are opened as
formal internal affairs investigations. In the case of an allegation of
misconduct that consists of criminal conduct, the internal investigation
typically is stayed pending the conclusion of a criminal investigation and/or
prosecution by appropriate prosecutorial authorities. Once an internal
affairs investigation is complete, the Commissioner determines what
disciplinary action, if any, is appropriate and should be imposed. The
entire case is then reviewed by the State Police Advisory Commission to ensure
appropriate action has been taken.
Vermont law requires that all internal investigations “shall
be confidential” except in very limited circumstances. Thus, specific
details regarding these 2018 investigations cannot be made public. Moreover,
Internal Affairs investigations mostly deal with conduct that may or may not
result in disciplinary action being taken against an employee, ranging from no
discipline up to and including removal from service. In essence,
many of the matters SPAC deals with are personnel matters to which the employee
has a right to privacy. Police officers often are falsely accused of
misconduct and are cleared after an internal affairs investigation. In
such circumstances, the law recognizes the officer’s right to
privacy.
SPAC meetings are generally held bi-monthly and are open to
the public (except when SPAC is in executive session). Meeting dates can
be found on the DPS website by clicking the SPAC link
under “Committees and Boards.”
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